1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the handling of large bales of bulk material such as hay or silage with or without a containing wrap. More particularly, the invention relates to the handling of extremely large bales of the type described which are too heavy to be handled manually, and in particular, large rectangular cross section hay bales. The system includes the pick-up and moving or the loading of such bales onto the bed of a truck or other vehicle and subsequently unloading the bales for distribution as with range or bunk feeding of cattle or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years the trend in preserving hay in bales has been toward increasingly large size bales, far beyond the ability for manual handling. One approach is the production of large round bales several feet in diameter in the form of a layered roll which can then be pasture or range fed to cattle by simply unrolling the bale on the ground. The following listed patents are illustrative of prior art pick-up and transport equipment designed specifically for handling large cylindrical bales:
U.S. Pat. No. Patentee
U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,666 Pfremmer
U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,598 Schurz
U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,794 Shaw
U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,607 Gibson
U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,041 Hostetler
U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,193 Warburton et al
U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,981 Pronovost et al
U.S. Pat. No. 5,340,259 Flaskey
This method, however has serious problems of wastage since the cattle foul the hay and use it for bedding. More recently the trend has been toward the formation of large rectangular or square cross section bales in the neighborhood of 8 feet in length and having a cross section of up to 4xc3x974 feet known as xe2x80x9cbig balesxe2x80x9d. Large bales of this category may weigh in the neighborhood of 1000 to 2000 pounds per bale, are cumbersome and create a serious handling problem. Such bales normally require some form of mechanized equipment for pickup, transport, stacking and ultimately distributing and feeding. The following listed patents are illustrative of prior art pick-up and transport equipment designed specifically for handling large rectangular bales:
U.S. Pat. No. Patentee
U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,111 Callahan
U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,461 Tilley
U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,046 Warburton
Although satisfactory equipment has been developed for unloading and field distribution of layered round bales by simply unrolling, the need exists for an efficient mechanism for loading, transporting and unloading for distribution and feeding of large square or rectangular bales. Most existing equipment is concerned only with field pick-up and stacking involving such methods as robotic lifting arms, tilt beds such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,405,229 and 5,542,803 to Tilley et al and Driggs respectively. These devices are not adapted for loading, transporting and feeding from a moving vehicle. Likewise common methods involving front end loaders and fork lifts require several pieces of equipment and operators and are thus uneconomical and time consuming. The following listed patents are illustrative of prior art pick-up and transport devices of the front end loader and elevator or fork-lift type equipment:
U.S. Pat. No. Patentee
U.S. Pat. No. 4,073,532 Blair
U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,666 Chain et al
U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,596 Fetter
U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,413 Grosz et al
U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,803 Driggs
The present invention contemplates a truck or other vehicle or trailer bed mounted mechanism and system for picking up a plurality of big bales of the rectangular type from a stack and loading the series of bales onto a mobile flatbed to be transported to a pasture or a range for instance where the bales are to be broken and distributed for feeding. Alternatively the bales may, of course, be moved from a field stack to a stacking/storage area for later pick-up and distribution.
In a first preferred embodiment of the invention a flatbed vehicle such as a motor truck or trailer is provided with a flatbed surface which is mounted for pivotal movement from a generally horizontal position through at least a 90xc2x0 arc to a generally vertical position. A first longitudinally extending endless conveyor such as parallel chains or belts or other mechanism for moving articles longitudinally on top of the bed is mounted beneath the surface of the bed leaving the flat bed clear except for the movable conveyor elements. A second transverse or cross-bed conveyor, which may be of the same general type, is located forwardly of the longitudinal conveyor adjacent the front end of the flatbed. The cross-bed conveyor mechanism will also be located below the surface of the bed in the same manner as described for the longitudinal conveyor, again leaving the generally flat surface of the bed free for supporting articles to be transported. This type of arrangement allows articles, such as the large rectangular bales previously described, to be placed on the surface of the flatbed and moved forwardly by operation of the longitudinal conveyor to a position overlying the cross-bed conveyor for lateral discharge and distribution as will presently be described. The flatbed is thus equipped, in the horizontal position, to support and discharge large bales of hay off to one side of the bed for pasture or range feeding. In the vertical position the flat bed may be positioned against a vertical stack of a plurality of large bales for loading. For this purpose the opposite lateral edges of the flatbed are provided with a plurality of tine structures which are designed to be selectively engaged with the sides of the several large bales in the vertical stack while the flatbed is in the vertical position. The tines are carried on rotatable shafts and are movable through an arc from a position below the bed surface, via suitable openings in the bed surface, to the bale engaging position above the bed surface. The rotatable tine shafts as well as the mounting and operating means for the shafts are located below the bed surface, again allowing for a free unobstructed bed surface. This mode of operation allows the bed to be moved into the vertical position, backed up against a vertical stack of a plurality of large bales, the tines actuated to engage the bales and then the bed lowered to the horizontal position for transporting the bales on the flatbed surface.
The truck bed may be of sufficient length to have an adequate overhang in back of the rear wheels of the truck so that the bed, in the vertical position, will have its rear edge sufficiently close to ground level so as to engage the bottom bale in the stack. Alternatively, with smaller trucks having shorter beds, a pivotally mounted bed extension may be provided so as to be mechanically linked with the bed in the vertical position of the bed. This arrangement will also allow the flat bed to be provided with a fifth wheel or gooseneck hitch when used for other purposes. The pivoted bed extension will normally be disposed in a vertical position at the end of the flatbed and, when the flatbed is moved to a vertical position, the extension may be selectively coupled to the vertical bed and move along with the vertical bed to the horizontal position for loading a stack of bales. The raising and lowering of the truck bed, operation of both the longitudinal and cross-bed conveyors as well as actuation of the bale engaging tines may be accomplished by hydraulic motor means with provision for remote controls from either inside or outside of the cab. It will be understood, of course, that alternate motor means such as pneumatic or electrical motors may be substituted for the hydraulic motor means.
According to a second embodiment, a flatbed vehicle such as a motor truck or trailer is provided with laterally movable tines carried on longitudinal rails or on a frame, the rails or frame being pivoted for vertical movement from a substantially horizontal position to a vertical position. The laterally movable rails are equipped with tine structures designed to selectively engage the sides of several large bales in a vertical stack. The laterally movable rails are mounted for pivotal movement about the horizontal axis such that the distal ends of the tine structures extend beyond the truck bed, positioning the tines to engage each bale of a series of vertically stacked bales resting on the ground. In addition to the longitudinally extending rails, a longitudinally extending conveyor is mounted so as to pivot from the horizontal to the vertical position along with the laterally movable gripping rails. The longitudinal conveyor also extends beyond the end of the vehicle bed so as to underlie at least a substantial portion of the bottom most bale in the stack being lifted. The movement of the rails and the conveyor from the horizontal position atop the vehicle bed to the vertical position and the lateral movement of the rails for engaging the stack of large bales is remotely controlled by hydraulic means. Once engaged, the gripped bales, rails and conveyor are returned to the horizontal position atop the truck bed for transport.
A transverse or cross-bed conveyor is positioned at truck bed level forward of the longitudinal conveyor for side unloading of the bales from the truck bed. Once the gripped bales are moved to the horizontal position, the side rails and gripping tines are laterally disengaged, allowing the longitudinal conveyor to move the bales forward on the truck bed with the forward most bale being moved to a position atop the cross-bed conveyor. Individually operated pushing arms are carried by the laterally movable rail structure and serve to complete the forward movement of the bales onto the cross-bed conveyor and to align the bales for unloading. Once the forward most bale is in position for unloading and distribution, the baling ties are cut and the cross-bed conveyor is selectively operated to move the bale toward the side edge of the truck for unloading as the truck is moved forward. The hay may thus be distributed in spaced piles along the course of travel as it flakes off over the side of the truck bed as the bale is moved transversely. The entire combination of operations described may be accomplished by a single operator and a single vehicle utilizing hydraulics controlled from either the cab of the vehicle or remotely therefrom.
According to another form of the invention, the laterally movable rails are carried by a cross beam at the end of the truck bed with the longitudinal conveyor being detachably mounted on the same cross beam intermediate the rails. In this embodiment, the bale gripping tines are carried on longitudinally extending beams demountably attached to the rails. For storage purposes, the central conveyor and the tine carrying beams may be detached from the side rails and the cross bar respectively and pivoted together to form an A-frame which may be readily reconnected for its intended use.
In another embodiment, adapted mainly for larger trucks, the longitudinal conveyor, laterally moving rails and bale engaging beams may be mounted on a single pivot axis at the end of the truck bed. The unitary structure may then be raised and lowered by means of a single or multiple hydraulic rams pivotally connected between the bottom of the pivoted frame structure and the truck chassis. With this arrangement, up to six 8 foot long 32xc3x9732 and 32xc3x9748 inch bales or four 45xc3x9750 inch bales may be carried on a single bed.
In yet another embodiment, a tilt frame structure mounting the conveyor, side rails and bale engaging tines may be detachably mounted as a unit to the rear end of a truck or in the alternative dismounted and carried by such means as a front end loader or forklift. Instead of utilizing the laterally movable rails described, the gripping tines may be mounted, one or more on each side of the frame, and connected for gripping movement by a double acting cylinder(s) also carried on the tilt frame. The demountable tilt frame may be either pivoted to the end of the truck bed and raised and lowered by a pivotally mounted hydraulic ram extending between the frame and the truck chassis or on a cross beam which is itself rotatable around a transverse axis by appropriate linkage and hydraulic rams.
In certain situations, such as during freezing weather, when the bale does not naturally flake off, a bale cut-off device may be provided in conjunction with the cross-bed conveyor for more effective distribution such as range feeding. A sickle-bar, rotary knife, hydraulic ram shear or other cut-off device may be used to selectively cut off sections of the bale protruding from the truck bed edge.